Matthew 11:28

CHRIST AND LABOUR

‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour.’

Matthew 11:28

We have witnessed the entry upon the stage of our political history of a new power—the power of labour, united, organised, conscious of its strength. In spite—nay, in view—of all possible anxieties, we dare to say to the new power, ‘Welcome! and God be with you.’ ‘God be with you’: that is the root of the matter. If the new power will only say, ‘If Thy Presence go not with us, carry us not up hence!’ The effect of the new force for good or evil depends in the last resort upon the moral and religious ideals by which it is inspired, upon the quality of personal character that lies behind it.

I. The leader needed.—And thus it is that all our sympathy for this new, fresh, real spirited movement cannot blind our eyes to the great need in which it stands. What is that need? It is the need of a Moral Ruler, a Leader, a Spiritual King, filled with compassion for its wants, vindicating its best desires, uniting its truest ideals; and yet chastening its self-will, subduing its passions, uplifting its character. We know that there is such a leader watching and waiting for it—Jesus, the Redeemer, the Lord and Brother of men, unseen, but real and watching. This Leader can bring to the men who need Him the gifts which no other leader can command.

II. A spiritual ideal.—He can bring a spiritual ideal and example, one which will call upon them indeed to come to the service of their fellows but remind them that they must first discipline themselves. It will teach them that, if the Kingdom of God is to come without, it must first be established and embraced within. It will teach them that to conquer the evils in the world they must also conquer the evils in their own souls. He will give them an example which will strengthen them by humility and rebuke their self-seeking.

III. Spiritual power.—This Leader brings a power to enable men to rise to His own example. It is not so much fine moral sentiments that the people need. There are plenty of them in the air. It is the power, the resolute strength to enable them to keep true to their better selves and to resist the personal temptations with which they are encompassed. What they need—what we all need—is a personal influence dwelling with us in the very sanctuary of our own heart and keeping us loyal to our best selves. That personal influence is the grace of God, the indwelling Christ passing into the spirit of man through the Holy Spirit of God.

IV. A steadfast faith.—This Leader can give what no other leader can give—the rest, the tranquillity of a steadfast faith to believe that on the side of the bettering of the world stands, eternally, God; to know that however one’s efforts may be thwarted and buffeted for the time, yet the cause is secure in the hands of the Divine Will. This is the only source of the patience which makes a man strong to wait as well as eager to fight, and gives him in the midst of his feverish activity a sense of inner sureness and calm. ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour, and I will give you rest.’

Our English Church must seek to stand in the midst of all the hopes and fears, the toils and energies, of this English people as one, like its Master, that is content to serve.

—Bishop C. G. Lang.

Illustration

‘A Socialist candidate at the General Election of 1906 thus described the reason why he felt driven, by his own need, to come to Christ—to return to Christianity:—“I know that I am like other men, weak and frail; that I commit sin and often do things that I should not do; but I also know that whatever strength to fight sin, whatever enthusiasm I have for working with and for others for their social salvation, comes from the fact that I believe that Christ first loved and cared for me, and from my absolute faith that beyond me, yet all round about me is the power of God. After active work in the labour movement for thirty-five years I am convinced that there is only one solid foundation on which that movement can rest, and that is the foundation fact which Jesus Christ laid down, that he who would gain his life must lose it.” ’